1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to generally to dental hygiene and, more particularly, to toothbrush and brushing compound combinations.
2. Description of Related Art
Proper dental hygiene is not only important for dental health reasons, but for personal appearance considerations as well. One of the many techniques people employ to improve their personal appearance through dental hygiene is to have their teeth whitened. Teeth whitening techniques vary in cost, convenience, and effectiveness.
Dental health professionals use many techniques to whiten teeth to improve their patients' personal appearance. High pressure baking soda solutions are used to scour teeth in a process analogous to sand-blasting. Chemical treatments abound for bleaching the teeth. However, these treatments require the inconvenience of visiting a dental health practice and the expense involved in having the treatment performed by a dental health professional.
Brushing with a dentifrice, whether a toothpaste, gel, cream, or powder, has some effect in whitening teeth due to the abrasive action of the dentifrice on the teeth. A relatively simple method of whitening teeth comprises brushing them with a dentifrice comprising whitening agents. Hydrogen peroxide, a common whitening agent, is a component in many off-the-shelf toothpastes and tooth gels. However, certain diets and activities, such as smoking, stain the teeth beyond the ability of a dentifrice alone to sufficiently whiten them.
The prior art discloses toothbrushes equipped with a light source that can illuminate the brushing region and provide beneficial radiation to the tooth surface. Examples of illuminating toothbrushes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,143 entitled DENTAL HYGIENE APPLIANCE; U.S. Pat. No. 5,160,194 entitled TOOTHBRUSH WITH EXTERNALLY ILLUMINATED BRISTLES; U.S. Pat. No. 5,030,090 entitled OPTICAL TOOTHBRUSH AND METHOD OF USE; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,173 entitled ILLUMINATED BRUSH DEVICE, all of which are expressed incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
A need exists for an improvement in whitening and cleaning teeth which does not require visiting a dental health professional and which improves the whitening of prior art dentifrices and electromagnetic radiation emitting toothbrushes.